


Denouement

by Stitchyego



Category: DRAMAtical Murder (Visual Novel), DRAMAtical Murder - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-26
Updated: 2016-07-26
Packaged: 2018-07-26 21:43:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7591480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stitchyego/pseuds/Stitchyego
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An innocent walk in the park among the flourish of autumn may not be everything it seems.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Denouement

          There was something alluring and delicate about the season of autumn. October brought with it a festival of colours to which no other season could really compete. With blooms of claret reds, sweet tangerine and an abundance of earthy shades, death had never looked so beautiful.  
          Perhaps that was too brooding a thought; after all, it was such a pleasant evening with the one he loved. Stretching out his arms either side of him, Aoba wiggled his pale fingers, parting them for sunlight to break through the gaps. As the breath of autumn travelled across the park and blew through them, a little shiver found its way up his spine. His primary senses were tingling in a delicious overload and it took nearly every fibre in his being not to bust forth and throw himself into the larger piles of leaves that had been raked up by either council workers or young children earlier in the day.  
       He was a fully functioning adult... But what’s growing up worth if you couldn’t have a little fun now and then?

          He had been caught in his reverie for longer than he could have predicted and his towering, broad-shouldered Romeo had left him straggling.

          “Mink!” he shouted out, dramatically flexing his hands either side of his mouth and rocking back on his heels. “Wait up would you?”

       Quickly making up the ground to find his place back by his side, Aoba couldn’t help but give a sly smile as a cheeky idea passed through his mind. How could he get this ‘oh so serious Mr Man’ to stop, take a moment and submerge himself in the dried out leaf litter? On his own, that probably wasn’t going to happen... But what if he pulled him in? Slide his little by comparison hands into that of a giants and guide him into a rainbow of the equinox.

          A faint blush sprayed over his plump cheeks. At least it matched the pallet of the season.

          Deciding it best to keep that little inclination to himself (for now, anyway) Aoba raised his hand from swinging at his side to curve around and find a comfortable rest against Mink’s loose swaying palm. His smile continued to spread as his fingers steadily began to coil through Mink’s.          

          “When did it get so late?” Mink asked open-endly as a sort of measure to break the silence, his sight remaining forward facing.

          Aoba shrugged.         “I don’t know. How does the saying go? Time flies when you’re having fun or with the one you love?” If his stupid heated cheeks weren’t blatantly obvious before, there was no denying them now. He was feeling so damn boyishly giddy, his head was swimming in the best sort of dizziness, that of which only hit you when you had found who you were meant to be with for as long as you lived and beyond.  
          “A-Anyway...” he trailed derailed sheepishly as they continued to idly walk along. “Do you want to just sit and watch the sunset for a little while?” he asked blithely as an old worn park bench of sanded wood and iron came into their range of view.  
          Without a comment back, Mink’s directed path leisurely shifted.

Upon reaching the resting point, Aoba waited for Mink to sprawl himself comfortably (or rather as comfortably as he could) on the public bench, joining after to sit closely in the negative space the curves of his body formed. He tucked his knees up close to his chest and hugged them loosely, his arms felt rather light to him as he laced his gentle fingers together. All he could think was how picturesque the overall scene he beheld to be. Here they were, bathed in the soft warm evening rays of the dying sun as the heat kissed their flesh goodnight in promise the sun would rise again tomorrow. The greenery of flora was sprinkled in a thin layer of copper dusk, the lake beyond danced with the setting orb and created a magical streak of glittering light that reached across the water. The birds were making the last of their melodies heard before they retired for the evening to make way for the violins of crickets.

          Aoba smiled.  
          Mink grumbled.

       It was an undisputed beauty, that of the fleeting day; the essence enough to captivate the mind and heart to sit quietly and behold. But then again, there were some people who just couldn’t stand the silence.

            “Why so sour huh?” Aoba asked him somewhat rhetorically, his head tipping a little to make a slight contact with Mink’s shoulder. In a contradiction to his previous audible action, Mink hushed his lips and turned his head downward in the direction where Aoba sat.  
            “I know, I’m a bit of a space cadet at the moment aren’t I? I’ll admit, you have me there... But I’m happy and is there something wrong with being happy? Of course not, just like there isn’t anything wrong with expressing happiness right?”

            Mink scratched at the side of his head, his soft ochre hair catching the late breeze and lightly tossing about with the tiny fallen leaves.

            “Aoba...”

            A fraction startled, Aoba lifted his head and searched Mink’s face for a sign awareness. His eyes came to an accepting half close and he smiled again softly. “... I think it’s about time we both went home, don’t you agree?” he asked him softly, his hand unlatching from its interlock to lift and rest upon Mink’s lap.  
            Unlike before, he didn’t react. Or, rather not in the notion of simply looking down to acknowledge him. What was Aoba’s validation, was the small crystal salts of tears welling in the corners of Mink’s very tired eyes.

            “But, I think it’s time to stop playing pretend.”

            Happiness. It was what he wanted to preach so badly... But with eyes fogging with nostalgia and a heart so full of hiraeth, it was hard to uphold the blissfulness he so wished for the man he loved.

            “Anyway...”  he spoke, lifting his head to turn and face him.    “All I wanted to say, is that I love you and please don’t be afraid” Aoba said resolutely, putting on a valiant smile even though no one else could see it. Lifting himself from the faded park bench, he cupped his hands behind his back and spun around on his heels to meet Mink face on. He bent himself forward so his face was a breath away from his and he could see every shift of shading in his golden iris.         “Can you hear me, Mink?” he asked, even if he knew it to be a fools question utter by a yearning heart.  
            The silence that followed was so loud, it practically screamed to him the answer. “I didn’t think so... But, you can’t fault me for asking right?” he asked another question, this time fully prepared for the absences of a reply.

            Mink gave a long low exhale, batting his thick lashes a few times and permitting the little teardrops that had waited patiently on the sidelines to finally drop down the smoothness of his cheeks. Over the years of life, Aoba had like to think he’d become pretty optimistic. He wasn’t so daft as to delude himself and ignore the obvious truth that the love of his life couldn’t see or hear him, but he had an inkling to something else.

            The satin veil between the plane of the living and the plane of the dead was a thin one, but it still did its job in separation.

            Lifting his tender hand that had become crystalline in the disappearing light, Aoba gracefully cupped Mink’s cheek as it was and leant in to deliver him one last kiss. The one he hadn’t been able to give him on that hapless afternoon.  
            “Maybe it’s just wishful thinking” he muttered softly, his thumb rubbing over the glistening wet trail where his tear had traced. _Oh, what he would give to be physically able to wipe away his tears again, even just one lone droplet. What he would give to corporeal and not just an intangible imitation hidden in plain view._      
          “But I still think somehow you know I’m here. I think you can feel me, I’m sure I can sense it in your tears” he whispered, allowing his hand to drop as he took a step backwards and adjusted his posture.

            What was there to say now? Even if his words would fall upon deaf ears, it wasn’t like he could just turn away and leave him where he sat. Even if the other side was calling out for him to return, even if he knew this visit was an ephemeral one... Leaving so abruptly wasn’t something he could do. For someone who moulded his heart and soul like warm clay in the hands of an old potter, he owed him a more justified parting.

            “I don’t want to think of this as a ‘ _goodbye’,_ it just seems like a way too negative way to leave you” he wedged his hands into his pockets as the beams of sunlight shone directly through him as though he were a projected image. In many ways, that was all he was – a memory of a man who once called the land of the living home.

            “I thought I was stronger than a few combined syllables, but actually saying _‘goodbye’_ to you is without a doubt one of the hardest things for me to actually utter. So, so maybe I’ll just say I’ll see you around? Is that ok with you, Mink?” he paused and rolled his tongue over his top row of teeth. “Because either way you look at it, leaving you is hard... It’s so damn hard but... If we both can go through this pain, carry it on our backs as we do, eventually we will get use to the burden and we won’t feel the weight anymore... And when we finally can see each other again, it will be so indescribable that everything we had to shoulder will be worth it.   The joy of you finally looking me in the eyes and actually seeing me, that’s what’s going to get me through this painfully long wait.             So I won’t say goodbye, I’ll just say see you later.”  
                Granting release of his parting soliloquy from his quaking lips, he found peace within himself and became satisfied – enough so in the situation that he could say his unfinished business no longer needed the prefix.

            Slowly but steadily he felt his form begin to shift. The partials that held his spectre shape and made him ‘him’ were slowly breaking apart and merging into the blinding light of the ending day. It started with his legs, to his middle, his dangling arms and even the bright blue flecks of his hair.

          “I love you, Mink. Until we meet again... Be good, ok?"

            Aoba’s last wish carried upon the breeze as finally his face was shrouded in a dazzling light and he was once more whisked away to a plain too far for those who still held a breath in their lungs to feel or even comprehend.

 *          
 

          Breathing a low exhale, Mink tipped his head backwards and gazed solemnly up at the idly swaying branches above; their easy movement and flowing rhythm was somewhat hypnotising. Keeping his fixation, he had his eyes focus and fade on the image of nature as his lungs inflated with the scent of fall. He wasn’t too sure why his nagging feet had brought him to the idyllic public park, maybe because at this time in day the amount of people who were around was significantly less? But still, if he wanted to be alone there were plenty of other places he could do that.   So why here? Honestly, he hadn’t the foggiest idea. None the less, something pulled him to this place and some subconscious part of his being told him he couldn’t leave yet. He had to wait. What was he waiting for? Again, he hadn’t a clue.

          But even if no one sat beside him and the only company he had were the singularly streaming trickles of tears, somehow he didn’t feel alone.

          “Hey, Aoba... The sunset is nice, isn’t it?” he lifted his head back up and was greeted by the direct beams of sunlight, it blinded his eyes a little but that warmth it emitted was too comforting to turn away from. Instead, he closed his eyes and let the warm glow soak into his skin.             It was almost embracive.

         Evenings use to be so miserable; it always felt like something was missing.     Someone was missing.   
         When the moon chased away the light, it felt like time was killing any hope he had that a happy ending would come to him beyond the horizon. But, that scene was that of a desperate man grasping straws. Time wasn’t there to elongate the lonely moments, though it didn’t help them either. Time was there to give him reflection. He couldn’t change the past – that had long been carved in stone; the future, however, was still a rushing river that could be made to bend and curve at any moment. It was something he could still manipulate.      

          He couldn’t change the past, but he could change himself.  
          He could be a better person for someone who would have given him the world.  
          His memories were there to save him, not enslave him.

          The memory of that loving smile, those gushing pink cheeks in a fluster and that laugh that never failed to make his heart stumble out of rhythm, that voice was so vividly strong in his mind he could have sworn he heard it breathe his name tenderly with the crisp wind. Funny how in a moment where you let your concentration slip your mind and ears could play tricks on you like that.  Gently, he opened his eyes and gazed across the lake where the sun kissed the water, where everything sparkled.   
            Then again, was it so bad to believe he wasn’t being tricked by his senses and craving heart? A smile curve upon his chapped lips, after so long it was a wonder his body remembered the command.

          No, no he wasn’t hearing things.  
          As far as he was concerned Aoba, _his Aoba,_ was here with him. No one could take that truth away or deny it.

          “You’ll wait for me, right?” Mink asked to the open air, his voice far more confident in its volume than his previous self-pitied mutters. He didn’t expect any verbal confirmation, his heart was a hopeful one but he hadn’t lost his grip on sanity. Confirming his faith, the silence once held quickly dwindled. As if on cue another afternoon wind kicked up its heels and passed through him, its gust got under his collar and flooded his nostrils with the brisk scent of pine needles.

          “... Yeah, of course you will.”

          Confident in himself and what he knew to be his truth, Mink pushed his firm palms to his knee and stood himself up. Finally, the shades of saffron and lavender had begun to ease from the sky and emerging in the twilight was the first sight of a tiny silver star. Its glint captivated his attention before he turned away, he imprinted its radiance in his memory eternal.

 

                                                            “I’ll see you later, Aoba.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Surprise! This is indeed the sequel to the Crash AU!  
> Here's hoping that the title wasn't too obvious with what the content of the fic was. Honestly, writing Aoba as being falsely alive was rather difficult - Mink needed to say things for Aoba to respond to so it appeared to be conversational, but there is only so much one can say to a 'memory.'  
> Hopefully, it wasn't too obvious and I succeeded in some regard. ヾ(＾∇＾)


End file.
